Notes: Very blurry video, and the sound has noticable cut-outs and some distortion. Don't bother with this version if you can download the MQ version, instead.

Gameplay:
The game was played on "expert" difficulty with a Radeon 9800 card at 800x600 resolution, using mostly 4xAA and 8xAF. A few select areas were bumped up to 6xAA 8xAF. Video was captured with FRAPS.

Video:
I was using Dr. Divx for the divx encoding, and Divx-5 just didn't do a good job with the video. So I chose Xvid, which was encoding just as fast but looked far superior. The Xvid video originally had very high processing requirements, but the codec has been optimized since then, drastically reducing the necessary processing power. The briefings are also available, in HQ and MQ versions. The credits are available in a modified MQ version.

Sound:
The Vorbis is better in several areas where there's a lot of loud background sounds or music (e.g. Cragscleft, Undercover after you trip the alarm). The LQ version outright misses quite a few sound effects.

Screenshots:
These are taken right at the beginning of Mission 1, "Bafford's".

Video samples:
These are taken from the beginning of Mission 4, "Assassins".

That is such an awesome allegory (the bear pits), I had to capture it regardless of the extra file size. Had unusual trouble getting up the sewer ladder. I considered editing out the waiting portions of the video, but just decided it would subtract from the game atmosphere. Got carried away with eating and accidentally chucked a flashbomb. I suppose I could have used them to help speed up the run but I wanted to minimize consumables use. That was some serious blackjack missing with the guard. I cacked Benny upside the head exactly where he can't see you and you can't knock him out; I catch a couple other people like that during this run. I've got a dead eye for that completely worthless spot. Almost grabbed the sceptre before Garrett ended his throne quip, which causes the two quips to play over each other. I figured I'd save the secret tunnel (to the throne room) for the Bloopers mission since it has the little plaque on it.

Mission 2, Break from Cragscleft 29:00 video, 27:38 stats

This one is scary. The worst part (for me) is at the top of the elevator when you have to make a break for the chapel. Everything after that initial break is much easier. That was a close one by that first zombie. The zombie behind the other one caught me by surprise because I was so focused on the first approaching one. Wasted a water arrow because I wasn't watching the timer (too scared!!). Ladder jumps routinely plagued me during this run. Jumps in general, but ladder jumps specifically. Could have used moss arrows to speed up the forgers section. Pick up the KEY, moran! The key! On the body! Grab it! Paid special attention not to hit the lamps in the level when attempting a blackjack; ones this low had to be strategic emplacements by the level designer. Tried to show how the "counting" works on the cell door levers, counting from "one" to whatever cell it is that I need. Several extra patrols in the "Gold" version. I earned a snack.

Got stuck on top of the priest's body and had to jump out. Decided to just run past the cell block 1-2 guy instead of drawing him out and KO'ing him, adding time to the level. Didn't bother dropping Basso and exploding the zombie on my way out of the prison -- it is a way into the prison, but I used the other entrance (two guards) since it doesn't require an arrow. Decided to wipe out the undead to show how it can be done at the beginning of the game and still have plenty of equipment left, although it does alert the upper level zombies. Almost fell down the elevator shaft from the explosion, and then almost got stuck in the same place, later. Forget deadly shadows; deadly texture grabs all through this run.

Mission 3, Bonehoard 48:31 video, 1:05:30 stats

I'm not sure why, but this one is more scary than Return to the Cathedral. I thought the rope arrow entry is easier than running down to the zombie, plus it helps identify where that hidden chest is a little better. Holy water arrow on the sleeping zombie makes nabbing the chest much easier. Springing the boulder trap is just a simple precaution to take, and shows the trap mechanism more clearly. One out of ten times, those stupid burricks take on the fly swarm. I would have had to reload the level to correct the issue so I just went with what I had. Wow I missed with a lot of broadheads. Didn't mean to hit the rock with that first arrow. It's strange for that rope arrow to be visible; it's usually invisible on me. I thought about going through the tunnel with several dead burricks in it, but that might have been confusing since I didn't come that way. Two shots with the arrow trap was just lucky.

I forgot to drop down to read that note at the bottom. My original route had me going down there first, making the entrance a bit easier since you can just immediately mantle up onto the stairwell ledge and wait. Garrett doesn't give his "piped in music" quip with that entrance, and I couldn't get it to trigger later by going down that tunnel, so I had to use the regular entrance. Using fire arrows way over on that side of the stairwell banister is what attracted the fire-demon. Accidentally used up another holy water vial, but it ended up being just the right amount of time. Rather than using water arrows to send the fire-demon off, I decided to use the dodge of diving down the well. Had to get the bone anyway. Didn't mean to get caught the second time, however. I could have run up the ladder to get the horn, giving Mr. Demon time to return, but it might make the path confusing. Don't usually have that much trouble with the zombie and the fire trap, but it should be obvious he can be killed by the trap. I think this map is very confusing. Did a decent job with the jumps down to the Heart. Should have gone slower in the statue room; I was getting impatient with this level since so many things had been going wrong. I had intended to drop the hammer haunt as I usually do (in TDP), but I was having a lot of trouble with sneaking properly so I just ran for it.

It's possible to get trapped in behind the burricks, which is why I let them come into the room, away from the doorway. Fire demon got activated by mistake, again. I totally meant to miss that rope arrow jump. I'm used to TDP rather than TDPG, so I didn't know about the water arrows on the top of the wooden columns in the zombie room, although I vaguely remember climbing up there one time. The 4x trap triggering in the Soul room made up for everything; that was most fortuitous. Forgot to get the gem on the bas-relief back when I was first in there. Started to go around the column, but that might seem like there was a trap down the center, so I decided to go back and show there was no trap down the center, but that makes it seem like there was a trap around the side; I can't win unless I run around the entire thing!

Mission 4, Assassins 29:46 video, 28:22 stats

I considered taking the long route by being detected and having to run back to "home territory". In the interest of video time and simplicity, just decided against it. I considered making a little video cut-out of the two routes, but couldn't really figure any good way to work it into the video without making everything confusing because the two routes are dependent on you getting detected. Speaking of detection, that was a close one while trailing the assassins. Worked out well because at that point, it doesn't really add much onto their route besides more checks, and shows just how close you can get without failing. Had more trouble than usual with the moss arrows just inside Ramirez's place. Nailing those three guards right there makes the remaining patrols much easier to deal with, as well as being simple and quick.

It's important to hide the bodies around the side of the entrance, because a servant goes out there after a conversation (upstairs hall, just outside the library) and will trigger the "long" exit. I usually smack those two servants, but as par for this run, my timing was just off. It's like driving down the road, swerving to hit every single last pothole in the road. It takes talent to do that even IF your intention is to avoid them. Dropped the lockpick instructions without reading, thinking I had already read them, so chalk that one up for missed literature. I totally think there was some kind of lag issue with my mouse causing some of these timing glitches. Rather than just leaning forward and clubbing the servant, I figured I'd head to one of the little hiding spots and smack him from behind. That's the guard I was kind of waiting for, strolling down the hallway into the basement. Had to open the removable door just to show it sailing off, but then it was back again after the save/reload. The beginning of the guard conversation is difficult to hear because of the background music, but fortunately opening the door makes it nice and loud. I considered going outside and around the side entrance to get all of it clearly, but it would have taken too long. The red roof mantle to the parapet sometimes gives me that much trouble; I hate it. Almost got stuck in the fireplace again. That servant (at the very end of the video) is the one from upstairs.

Mission 5, The Thieves' Guild 1:47:45 video, 1:46:25 stats

This is one of those confusing maps I was talking about. After about 10 times through this mission, I still don't quite have the layout memorized. I usually know a general "direction" to head in, and sometimes I'm not even sure about that. I just know that I will eventually have to head in that general direction, so I might as well go down there and see what's there. Deliveries in the back door? Her backdoor!?? Anyway. Someone is going to be mighty po'd when they find everyone in the guild, lying unconscious. They hate me anyway. The guards in the casino can be tough to lure out sometimes, and they certainly were more difficult than usual on this run. Even dead bodies don't pull them off their little perch. I didn't realize the frame was wood and was wondering why there was no metallic sound from the arrows. Then I knocked him out when he was alerted and firing, and the arrows didn't add to my inventory. Which really was the icing on the cake of glitchness and otherwise non-standard mission parameters during this entire level. It should have been "get your arse topside", not "get your ass topside".

Spider took a nibble, but no biggie. Plenty of water arrows and that is an easy area to be able to catch the two patrolers (one civilian, one thief). Just trying to have a bit of fun in this area. A clean inventory is a happy inventory. Chase-down-the-civilian game is always a delight. Clubbing that sleeping guard can be a real problem but I was fortunate on this run. This mission had about a weeklong break at this point, where I stopped playing the game and continued recording about a week later, so I was a little confused as to what had been done and what had not, which guards were still active, etc. The issue may not be entirely apparent from all the other bungling. I was trying to do an air-knockout on the servant, which failed rather spectacularly. Several times. It is possible to run in right after the thief conversation and smack them if the torch is put out during their conversation. However, they either ended the conversation early or did an audio overlay (two different dialogues playing over each other), which was unacceptable. Archer grabbed by a texture means one less archer.

Just kind of bumbling through the level some more. I've never learned to stack things properly. I knew I still needed the key, but I was already here so I might as well just clear the place out. Added something like 4 minutes to the video. Constable Mahk certainly does cost quite a bit. Couldn't remember which bed had the loot behind it. Eventually just stopped the game, figured out where to go, then started recording again. In Thom's, I ducked down by the table because I thought some loot was under there but nothing registered so I moved on. Have to come back for it later. At least I remembered the key. Hiding the bodies is just part of the "spirit" of the game. Always hide bodies. That poor servant is going to freak when he wakes up in the torture room with a horrible headache. No loot behind that bed.

Still can't stack. I've gotten stuck many times between the couch and fireplace. Cripes, that was close with the second thief entering the room. Got thrown off the door when I was leaning through to have a look. There's Lady Van Vernon again, warming up the stable boy. I've knocked those two sleeping guards out before, but on this run I just couldn't get close to them. So, several flashbombs just to show what was in the crates. Just kind of looking around, deciding how I wanted to tackle these next few guards. Started to run after the archer, but those two other swordmen popped out. Hid the bodies in plain sight. Started to throw a rope arrow, but just decided to run instead, then got confused trying to find the candlestick. There's that couch sticking issue I was talking about. I swear, one of these missions had a nugget or something in the commode. Loot hunt: finally, behind the bed. Those gold coins are easy to miss. Just didn't go into that room with all the equipment and loot.

Mission 6, The Sword 1:05:56 video, 1:05:02 stats

It's possible to forgo the torch and moss arrow by leaning out the doorway shadow, but I just decided to use them anyway. There's about three or four ways I usually do this mission and I was just making decisions on the fly, trying to keep the routing easy to reproduce and map. There's so many things to do on this first level, I just couldn't decide and was too impatient to go through and plan an efficient route. Didn't really have any specific route in mind except for a few places toward the top levels and conversations. Very close call with the fast guard because the blackjack just refused to swing. No glowing mushroom under the tree in TDPG. Tried to get some kind of running start on the underwater swim to Little-Big World. That one one serious cluster-f with the guard and the little stream and the tree and the healing potion. I hit every pot hole on this run. This is probably my favorite place in this entire level. Big World. The music is just a short, repetitive melody, but for some reason it's very catchy.

Getting out of that matchbox is tricky, so I did it a couple times to make it known that a standing-mantle gets you out rather than a running-mantle. Knowing how to fire and climb down a "cornered" rope arrow can come in handy, so I showed it at the coffee-table because the drop isn't fatal. Had to make a decision on this one: reading both parchments unflags the mission objective and makes the mission unable to be completed. I could have just reloaded after reading the second parchment, but in the video it would have appeared as if I'd read it without repercussion (unchecked objective). I ended up having to ctl-alt-end the mission at the front gates, and this is accurately displayed by the unchecked mission objective. In hindsight, I probably should have put up a little static note at the end, explaining that the player must choose one or the other parchment in order to be able to properly complete the mission and that the video presentation is just to record both parchments in their respective mission positions. The chair is sometimes difficult on a cornered-arrow if I don't quite get enough lean out on the arrow shot. And of course, there's damage involved unless you fire a couple others lower down to jump to after the initial arrow. I just forgot to make a bridge of them.

Didn't mean to fall off the footlocker like that. I can usually skip off the lock on my way down. Another bad cornered arrow. The last one wasn't terrible, but a good one doesn't require a run at a sticking spot. I knew the key didn't fit the lock but I thought it looked similar to the one upstairs that does (that may be in TDP where they look similar). Just displaying which one is which. That is kind of a hazard to get those three elemental arrows; getting stuck up at the top. There is a tiny little "perfect" place to put an arrow where you can still reach all three and won't get stuck, and I just didn't hit it this time. I was thinking there was a hidden niche behind one of those paintings in the little gallery. There were two routes (for me) up to the next level and I changed my mind at the last second. Rope arrow, in the garden with the throne of stone, shows my other route up; in this case, down then back up.

TDP has the key by Viktoria's bed. If I had just run over the trap, the fire barrels would trigger which can alert guards up on higher floors. Just best to avoid setting that trap off. TDP just sticks with me on that bedside key. I was thinking there was one more guard up on the second floor, but I was mistaken. I like that rope arrow entry (in the upside-down library) to the third floor because it's easy to pop the guards in the hallway section at the end of their patrol route. The lighting distance of those top floor torches is retarded. That was close with the sword guard turning around right in my face. These guys just don't want to open up an opportunity. That archer ran into me and through sheer glitch, didn't alert. Forgot to put up a moss arrow on the landing, but it's entirely possible to make a quiet jump back to it. I got distracted while carrying that body and just kind of kept walking with it to show the little optical-illusion doors. Still needed to go that way to get the gems. Loot collection time: always forget the rock on top of the trap face. Stupid cup hidden behind the plant. Tried to break my fall with the body, but it didn't quite work.

Mission 7, The Haunted Cathedral 1:13:32 video, 1:12:47 stats

This is another rough one, probably about as rough as Cragscleft. I did do a practice run on this level just to find all the loot and try to get a layout of the map. I hadn't considered lighting because I always play though without turning on the lights, but the final video quality would be dependent on the lighting. However, a beginner player would be better served by leaving the lights off and cranking up the gamma. This all occurred to me as soon as I hit the record button at the start of this level. So after about a 20 second debate with myself while looking at that first parchment, I decided to go with lights on and increased difficulty. Plus a completely new route focusing on getting those lights turned on as soon as possible, as well as not alerting the whole place. Basically, making all most of my practice routing for this level completely worthless. The hammer is just a useful tool to have on undead missions, so I carried it a ways to make it's position known. The burricks didn't cooperate like they were supposed to, and had been during practice. Which seriously bent me. Forgot I was leaving the lights on during this mission and shut them off again. Doh!

I was thinking there was a rock by the keeper outpost, but apparently not. The zombie surprised me and I needed some time to assess the area; which meant a dive into the water. Checking undead weapons and deciding what to use. That was really close with the sleeping zombie. Quite excellent timing with the group of zombies, giving support to my choice of holy water as the initial weapon. Mines just don't have much other use in this level for me. I debated whether to tackle the Watchman's Grave spiders with the lights on, but decided to go lights off. Ended up being a poor choice because they were already alerted from the mines and I was hitting all the wood instead of the spiders. I thought that box turned on the lights in that tunnel, but they didn't. Got unexpectedly cornered, so an unplanned fight it was going to be. Not a terrible use on the two zombies but I would have preferred to lead off with a broadhead or backstab on the priest.

THAT is exactly why I always leave the lights off. I was lost up until the video segment (37:52). Couldn't remember if if they were completely dead after two flashbombs, so I just decided I was better off using a vial on them. Hiding in the door shadow on the hammer haunts. I was hoping to catch both of them in the room at the same time, but there were almost exactly 180 degrees out of sync. With the lights on, I didn't want to risk attempting a backstab so I just used flashbombs since I consider them to be the least effective undead equipment. Wanted to make it clear a running-mantle was necessary to get out of that area. I certainly got lucky with that burrick trapped on the light post.

I was hoping to damage that hammer archer enough with broadheads that it would only take one fire arrow, but it was not to be. Close call with the patrolling priest. He took far more swings than I was expecting. Plenty of fire arrows, so I thought I'd just flip one in there to save me some trouble in RTC. If only. Wasn't sure if I should go after loot or the rest of the undead, so those are "routing" pauses where I scouted out what needed doing then reloaded. After two fire arrows, I was looking for that other priest plus the room with the mine. At 2632 loot, it was time to hunt that other priest. Nothing was working properly except holy water and flash bombs. There was one last zombie shuffling around someplace, but I had the loot and was ready to leave. I got a little jump crazy, but the point was to score broadheads. It's easier to rope over than pick the lock under time pressure, but I still showed the trap mechanism.

Mission 8, The Mage Towers 1:08:47 video, 1:06:26 stats

Did a little routing for this one and was just messing around with air knockouts. Close one with one of the patrols heading for the corner where a body was stashed. I like it when I get a good bunny-hop going and really cram those bodies into the corner. The floating lifts in earth tower squashed or otherwise smacked me a lot more than ever before. I don't know how long it took me to find the least dangerous way through, and I didn't even end up using that path. I don't know what was going on with the third floor guard. He had always come by the stairs quickly where there's a little dark spot to lie in ambush. Direct approach worked best on level four with the two guards and open area. Wanted to show it's possible to lean and grab the air key, but also wanted to show the path into the area with the chest because there is so much equipment along the way. Moved crates to show how to traverse those areas. Obviously didn't intend to get stuffed by the floating platform. Again, the direct approach to air tower second floor seemed the best. Find a dark spot in their patrol path, lean forward and whack them. Another game of club the servant in the central building.

Popped the two guards before they flagged fully alert. Sometimes when I water arrow the torch by the mess-hall, it puts out the other one in the hallway on the other side of the wall. Didn't get that conversation in the best place possible; I accidentally set off the trigger for it when I went too close to the door. Clubbed another guard exactly on the side of the head. Don't know why that fire guard didn't alert, but suits me fine. Another vote for the direct approach. I think you're supposed to just make a break for it on that last level of fire mages, but it seems to be just as easy to cack them. Whoops, on the drop from the top level down. It's absolutely critical that I always take the longest route around a column to the door. I do that on purpose. Every single time. Could use a gas arrow on those guards, but I showed the blackjack route. Obviously got confused when I went the short way around the center column in the talisman room on the way out. There was a couple days break in the library and I had to review what I'd done. Just ended up keeping that reviewing portion of the run. Loot hunt: servant quarters stuff that I missed when that one broad bailed on me. Direct approach wins again.

Mission 9, The Lost City 1:04:09 video, 1:01:36 stats

This was my favorite level in TDP, but I don't much like the mages in TDPG. If you slide off the roof on the jump down, you won't take damage. I just didn't catch the roof that time. Figured I'd show the air pockets. Another score for the direct approach on the spiders. Get a gravity-assist on the arrows with the big green spider. That's a good place to snag that Garrettism (ain't lost no more), plus you can take out the elementals with gravity-assist, making that area much easier later on. Sometimes that downshot on the burrick works in one, and sometimes it doesn't. Missed the jump across to the other building, where I usually go by rooftop a little ways. I think I usually strafe jump it but I was trying to keep the camera always pointed in my direction of travel, for clarity. The burrick and fire-elemental fight went better than I required, but there's supposed to be four bodies there, so I'm looking for residue (live burricks). I guess the carcasses just got blasted apart. Moving along. I've no idea what was going on with the super fire-elemental and his deflector shields. That's never happened before. I don't know if I just wasn't hitting properly or what. Really chaps me that it took three arrows.

Tried knocking out that fire mage, but he was just super alert even with moss arrows, so it was either broadheads or gas arrow. Not much other use for the gas arrow in the entire level except for those two mages, and even they are bypassable. I seem to remember being able to gas both of them at the same time, but just couldn't get it to work during this run. I always sweat the rope arrows catching fire and burning up, on that arrow bridge across the lava. The Dark engine just wasn't quite that advanced, fortunately. Some of those guards I just held still to show their patrol route, if it was a short route. I guess if you're trying to keep it in the closet, that tomb is probably pretty safe, except for the two other guys patrolling. That's the bad thing about bodies and zombie parts. They're always getting in the way. Forgot to read the keeper book at the remains, darnit! In Dark Project, you could totally climb on that fallen monument. More gravity-assist on the elementals. Because they're beyond the physics box, they're not animated, easy shots, go down with one broadhead which saves water, and no one else is alerted to their demise. The "quick" way out isn't the "quickest" way out, but it bypasses so much stuff and only takes moderate skill. Close one (literally one) with the fire elemental. Didn't have any other use for the gas arrow, other than the burricks, and the fire arrows had that one covered. In TDP, I think there was something up on that building ledge by the lava. Burricks. That's why I save up the fire arrows. I actually had to replay that section because the bodies prevented me from getting through the corridor. And I forgot to put in the little page-turn sound effect on the stats.

Mission 10, The Opera House 1:20:40 video, 1:19:10 stats

That stupid guard. He always causes significant problems for me. It's possible to just plow through the craymen, but I might as well use the equipment. Probably should have gone into those other caves, but offhand, I believe they were empty. That was a real fluke with the crayman in the trap room; he usually doesn't get that far. Technically I forgot the plaque (another case of confusion), but it just says the same thing as the mission map which I included at the very start of the video. Invisible rope arrow; another first for this run. I wanted to deal with that guard at the top of the stairs but needed flashbombs. The door is for later. I love it when you knock someone out and their alert script is still playing. Sneaking on metal and tile doesn't always seen to work properly in TDPG. Some days I just glide around that chair by the talisman, and others it's no different than a brick wall. I had so much trouble with the kitchen servant becoming alerted and running off for absolutely no reason, I still have no idea what it was setting that guy off but just spending a little more time in the hallway seemed to cure the problem, so I used the time to drop the hall guard. That is one deaf guard in the hallway. I ended the mission just to check if I was playing "expert".

Have to wait a few seconds after opening the guardroom because for some reason they are immune to the flashbomb if you chuck it immediately. Another smooth move -- when the guard turns around just as I take a swing at him. Was going to go for an air assault, but with the other guard in the distance, opted for a moss arrow. I was waiting for a conversation between the chubby guy and girl. I was hoping to pull in several guards at the top of the stairs and I'd gas them all. The missed conversation stems from the run method. I was saving constantly and scouting the next thing to do, then reloading my save and recording that section. I just outright forgot about that particular reload and it wasn't until several missions later (when I was arranging the video) that I noticed. Capturing that conversation would have required a wicked splice, a discontinuous mission (a "stand alone" mission), or scrapping all subsequent missions and restarting the run from the missed conversation point. So, I just left it as is.

Almost heaved that girl off the balcony but was afraid of failing the mission from the drop, so I didn't. Every once in a while, I can remember enough of the map for the compass to be of use. Missing doors. How quaint. Forgot the moss arrow down the fireplace, even though it didn't matter at that point. The flash bomb was just a small debate if I should go drop the elevator guard or not. He was just down the hall, but I decided against it to save time.

Mission 11, Undercover 19:22 video, 17:07 stats

Not too bad on the time. Lots of literature. I explored several routes for this mission and at some point it became evident the direct approach was easier, more complete, as well as much faster. It was just absolutely superior in every way, especially dialogue clarity. I could do it fast and still get lots of sightseeing in the level. Also, TDPG's AI timing just made this a valid approach for the beginner thief. I normally creep around the place and catch the majority of them out in the garden, but TDPG didn't seem to like that approach much. Added a little too much brightness to the video. Close call with the flashbomb and you can hear the alert script. Bodies and zombie parts, in the way. Hate 'em. That hammerite in the graveyard cringed before the blackjack came down, making it a close call. Those two little snuggle bunnies out in the graveyard are the sole reason I had to completely change my route. They are super alert and made to detect missing loot which isn't in their line of sight. The front door guard is another alert weirdo. Long route around. Again.

I dropped the wallbuilder prayer, which catches me later. That parchment was totally there amongst one of those 6 books. The video jump was where I read the wallbuilder prayer again but didn't arrange it into the video because it was already there. Long way again. Just kind of looking around, making sure everything is in readiness. All those sound effects after getting the talisman make for a wicked audio track. The final guard was another glitch. Both guards usually hit the door at the same time, with the same mine knocking both. I got a little jump happy and took a dive off the front door, falling down into the garden. So I reloaded to my last save, and guard boy comes running out of the door. Before the save, he was stuck behind it. Fortunately I'd saved while in shadow, so I had several options to deal with him, directly being the best.

Strangely, I guess I've played this mission so many times, it has become enjoyable rather than just scary as heck. There is a slight difference between the TDP and TDPG versions, but my overall routing remained the same. I concentrated on keeping minimal equipment use while wiping out undead, but wound up using a bit more than usual anyway. I always move that skull because it might get in the way, later. Had some trouble getting the rope arrow to stick such that I could mantle onto the beam properly. Took about 5 tries when it usually takes one or two; there's something different about that beam with the TDPG version. That hammer flew backwards, when it normally heads to the right near the altar. Used one extra flashbomb. I'm telling you -- Martello and Murus were putting on the ritz back by the well, when Murus came and went. Heart attack or stroke. That's why Murus needed the prayer, and that's why he hid his wallet and candle on the shed. Candle because he was sneaking out there at midnight and a torch would be too bright, wallet so it wasn't jingling. Martello felt so guilty afterwards, he climbed back into the closet (attic). The French guy down in the wine cellar was just getting hammered. Don't know why neither of the bodies have a head.

Forgot about the priest because he usually gets caught out with the others in the cathedral. The hammer eluded my search. The plan was to club that one zombie in the back and leave him safely in that little room in the corner. Well, Mr. Door Texture had caught me while I was leaning and it closed. So I didn't get enough run in, and that plan got scrubbed. I still think it's a sound plan, although my usual plan is what I end up doing with that zombie. First time I've ever actually had to deal with that priest when he's by the back door; he usually comes into the cathedral when I'm blasting zombies. Worked out pretty well, mainly because he refused to alert to the hammer. That door catapulted me out at exactly the right time, even though it scared the living heck out of me. That was a highly unusual series of events down in the basement. Fairly neat glitch with the skull. Just checking that the blast didn't wake the zombie.

Two reasons why I slip out the back without the Eye: one is to hear that little bit of dialogue from the Eye. The other is to clear the place out so Murus' dialogue is clear and there are no distractions. I seriously considered cutting out the wait periods but I felt that this is the one that really needs to be as detailed as possible to give complete strategy against all the undead. I try to pile up the zombies as much as possible, and those top two were about as perfect as it gets. The haunt is usually the first one through that area and that's normally where he gets dropped (right in front of the back door). I was going for the Eye, but remembered I needed the bell loot. Mantling up the broken staircase gave me a bit more trouble during this run, so I grabbed a couple boxes for it. Still winded up going around at least once. Down in the cloister, about 30 feet away; what the heck is 30 feet away that you can't tell me right here and now, you wanker?

I started to heave the bodies down but remembered that the undead will alert from them. Not real good luck in the courtyard with the patrols, but it's been worse. I endevoured to hold still as much as possible so the video codec got better compression and all the waiting didn't increase the file size as much. Zombie *still* didn't drop quite where I wanted him, but it was workable. So, I obviously hit that perfectly-worthless spot on the side of the haunt. Twice. Checked in the toilet just because -- I keep thinking there's a gem in one of those. A rather alarmed Brother Murus. What'cha doing in there, buddy? I've never been able to do that before, jump down and rip off all the loot like that without the zombie even noticing.

Never opened the confessional/prayer room without alerting the zombie, either. This entire run was just plain whacky. Can't believe that zombie detected me, nor that full on hammer hit just bounced off with absolutely no effect. There's at least one glitch in there. Fortunately I had two (hammers, not glitches). Still could have done it with just the one by backing off and following after he turned around. That stupid hammer, bouncing on the elevator. Very fortunate to have been taking out all these undead or the whole place would be awake. Checking inventory and deciding what to lead off with. Fire arrows are the usual for those two, but sometimes there's a third or fourth guy that makes it down there and I'd have used water arrows for the lot.

Thought there was something above the fireplace. Major malfunction upstairs with the flash bombs, as I had planned to a fire arrow and draw all the other guys into that room. Hello and then that first fire arrow missed. There should have been one single fire arrow expended on that, and either flash bombs or fire arrows on the other two. Very, very fortunate to catch both zombies upstairs with the same mine. Some major equipment waste in that section. Guess they (Looking Glass Studios) dropped the floor trap for TDPG. I was going to set it off and it looked like the panel hadn't been depressed. I knew there was a gem behind one of those machines or something. I should have made more use out of that vial in the graveyard. I did Murus' tasks one at a time to get all the dialogue. Had to go around the broken staircase because it just didn't want to cooperate.

Mission 13, Escape 52:37 video, 51:52 stats

Direct approach for the win, again. Supposed to be a fire arrow in one of those fires. Completely forgot about the gas arrow until I swung around. In TDP, that spider patrols quite a ways down the tunnel and you can pop him with a broadhead from the window. Still took one broadhead, just the same. It's possible to drop a rock down on that frogbeast (killing him) but I couldn't seem to make it happen. So, like, anyone that's played Shadowgate. When you get to the dragon, there's a pile of bones and armour and a pair of eyes staring out of the cave in front of you. Fairly reasonable to assume there is danger associated with that area, the cave in particular. Not these rat-men. They are FEARLESS! Without fear!

The cave is a pretty solid tactic so I just waited and baited instead of rushing. I meant to miss that rope arrow jump. In fact, I actually screwed up when I got it the second time. I was going to miss it again. That is the first time I've ever had a big spider jump, and only the second time I've seen spiders jump (Lost City was the first, those first three little ones jumped me one time). The few times I actually knew where I was going, I made sure to look around in empty corners so everything blended together, giving the appearance that I was just "immersed" in the game rather than horribly lost all the time.

That was the closest call in the entire game, with the rat man in the hall. The problem was that I banked off the boxes, and very fortunate that I caught that guy before his alert script had fully triggered. Chucked him off just because I was still pissed. Waste of a mine. Didn't realize I had all those gas arrows, but I was still trying to get use out of the mine. Noisemakers are worthless. I would have run up there and taunted them across the mine, but the bugbeasts would have been shooting. I could have baited the bugbeast over by jumping on the tile, but it was faster to just gas him. Her. Gas her. Took a bunch of shots to pop that frog in the hallway. I think there was some kind of glitch I was running into on that arrow shot trajectory. The frogbeast sitting outside the front door is what was causing me concern. I wasn't sure if it was inside the main entrance or where, but he was just outside that that's why his voice seemed so loud. Didn't risk blowing the mine with a broadhead, since I'd alert the frog and might actually use the broadhead on him. It's not the fall, it's the sudden stop at the end that gets you.

Mission 14, Strange Bedfellows 53:55 video, 51:27 stats

During the first recording session, there was an infinite arrow that I could just keep taking, in the right barracks. I ended up getting webbed during it, all kind of baddies and a huge fight. Just an absolute cluster so I chucked it. Didn't get the infinite arrows the second time, which just goes to how bugged my save game or install was at that point. Certainly were a lot of books in this mission. Kind of nice they're all together because it made the arrangement a little easier.

Kind of strange that the sound effects die out in the garden. Even if I jumped down to the ground, the arrow shot and kill were silent. Lots and lots of arrows. More trouble than usual with the spiders. Still, not a bad go because the video shows an escape route in case the encounter goes badly. Where the heck did that fourth rat come from? It's always nice when the bugs help kill themselves. There should be several arrows stuck in the ground down there. And the bugbeast is blocking the doorway. Didn't quite intend for that to hit the insect swarm, but it got everything. Had the gas arrows, they're not good for anything else, and it would just have taken longer to lure the ratmen over with broadheads or outright kill them.

Mission 15, The Maw of Chaos 30:33 video, 27:00 stats

Got so wrapped up with the mission, forgot that parchment was in my inventory. Didn't mean to get caught by that bugbeast. Close call with that last bugbeast near the bubble platform. Couple extra fire elementals in the TDPG version. Being *very* careful not to accidentally eat a fruit when I pick them up. Didn't mean to catch all that damage, though. Thought there was some equipment or fruit in that first cave. Diagonal swimming isn't glamorous but it gets the job done. TDP starts you with 4 or 5 rope arrows, so TDPG's 2 arrows was a challenge. I normally use three or four to make the "ladder", and lose two in the process.

Ironically, I made perfect shots on the first attempt (lost one arrow), but got caught by the web-spider at the entrance to the lair. It was salvageable but I was so pissed, I reloaded. Had one hell of a time getting the shots to take again. It's probably for the best because the video is a little more detailed for placement, making the route easier to replicate. I don't think I've ever actually used the direct approach into the tree base because I wasn't smart enough to figure out the little rainbow ladder thing. Boosted gamma to see the spider and lair more clearly. I usually wipe all those spiders out but decided to go with smaller file size by making a run for it. Upon placing the eye, I noticed the parchment and didn't want to make a break during the Trickster's rant. The rope arrow vantage seemed to catch the most scenery and details during the ritual.

Reviews

You like thief and want to see some new moves and an entertaining run? Well, you've got to look elsewhere, because you won't find anything of it here. If you want to see a guy falling of ladders, running into walls and guards, falling of ledges, forgetting loot and wasting time doing unnecessary things, then this is for you.
I just started to download this and didn't have much expections, but even those where disappointed. First of all this guy wastes time .... and he does it a lot. The hq-videos use up 9965 MB disk space. The running time is approximately about 16 hours!! Who's gonna wanna watch that??
How come he's so slow? Well, he reads every f*cking piece of paper he can find, hears every conversation from start to end and eats every bit of food he runs into...As if this wasn't already enough, he also isn't even capable of moving professionally. Although he uses bunny hopping to speed things up (with medium results), as described before, he falls of ladders and ledges, takes wrong paths and has to turn back, forgets to pick up loot or just doesn't play economically by running back and forth in the level to finish the different tasks instead of finishing them in a fast and efficient order...

Another slowdown are the unnecessary moves. This guy fights guards you could just run past, hides bodys although there is no guard patroling the area. For example in "Down in the Bonehoard" he wastes 5 (!!!) minutes to kill off 3 burricks, he just could have ignored. Later he wastes 2 minutes to sneak up at the skeleton guard instead of running past him into the teleporter. The he takes 3 minutes to kill 3 burricks at the entrance to the Horn of Quintus. He accidentally falls down the flooded graves, runs 2 times from the top of the crypt down to the bottom, because he forgot loot and finally takes the wrong turn just before the end...

This was just a short excerpt of the gameplay you'll see if you torture your bandwidth to download this stuff. There's much more to torture yourself with: jumping 4+ times to catch a rope, swinging sword and blackjack multiple times till he finally hits his target, wasting flashbombs etc... After watching till level 4 i stopped and deleted the whole junk. I just had reached the maximum level of boredom.

The only purpose these videos have is to show where all the loot is. I'd rather recommend using a walkthrough to find the last loot instead of wasting up to 2 hours for watching a level (e.g.the cathedral). According to "Taffer", who wrote a very good walkthrough for thief gold, which you can find at gamefaqs, he finished the whole game at expert with all loot in 6 hours and 40 minutes. Well thats what i would call a decent run time, but not insanely long 16 hours. This "sleeprun" seems as if a noob just captured his first run through thief.

Now to the technical stuff. I'm referring to the hq-videos. Although the videos are captured with a resolution of 800x600 the game was played at a much higher res. Thus the menu and descriptions are small as hell, giving your eyes and the encoder a hard time. The gamma of the game is far too high, resulting in green shadows and far too bright corridors, killing of the balanced outlook of the game and a good part of the mood. The videoquality is ok when moving through bright places. In dark corners and there are a lot of them, the dark textures show ugly pixelation which smeares in the characters movement direction. A result of bad encoder settings. High bitrate just doesn't compensate absence of encoding knowledge. I've captured thief myself at 1024x768 and had better results with a lower bitrate. I've also seen other videos with this res and smaller bitrates and better quality. The most ugly parts are far away enemies, that show the same pixelation+smearing as dark textures.

I hope this explaines my rating. If you don't believe me, just download the training for which he needs about 7 minutes to finish. If you like this style, then you have found plenty of material. If you want to see some entertaining videos look at www.thief-universe.de. There you can find videos of a very fast speedrun.